Specsavers County Championship - day three (close)

Hampshire 211-9d v Somerset 135-8

SOMERSET'S batting frailties came to the fore once again as a dramatic collapse allowed Hampshire to seize control of the County Championship match at the Ageas Bowl.

The visitors fell from 102-1 to 135-8 in the space of 13.2 overs prior to the tea interval, as the solid foundations built by Eddie Byrom and Adam Hose were not built upon by the out-of-form middle order.

Belatedly resuming on 43-1 after the rain which wiped out most of day two continued into the beginning of day three, Byrom and Hose began brightly and belied their inexperience to take Somerset past 100.

Byrom progressed towards a half century in his maiden first class innings, but fell seven runs short as he chipped Ian Holland to George Bailey to depart for a promising 43.

That was the start of a super spell for the Hampshire seamer, who went on to dismiss James Hildreth, Tom Abell and Steve Davies in quick succession to come to the end of his fourth over with remarkable figures of 4-8.

Hildreth was trapped lbw for 2 before Abell and Davies each fell for ducks as the trio continued their poor respective seasons - the captain has now recorded 10 single figure scores in 13 County Championship innings this season, while the usually reliable Hildreth is yet to register a half century against the red ball in 2017 and Davies averages just 16.73 in a Somerset shirt so far.

Adam Hose was watching the carnage unfold from the safety of the non-striker's end, but the batsman momentarily lost his head in calling for a suicidal single which saw Lewis Gregory run out for 8 as the collapse continued.

Hose was the next to go, pinned bang in front by Gareth Berg for a vital 48, and Craig Overton then edged behind for 2 as Somerset finished a nightmare second session 76 runs adrift of Hampshire's first innings total with just two wickets remaining.

The rain returned during the tea interval to spoil any prospects of play during the final session - perhaps a relief for the beleagured batsmen, who will have to improve on day four (for which the forecast is better) if they are required to bat again.